A smelly problem with a disappointing “solution”
About a week ago a motorist on Hwy 182 hit a (60 to 70 pound) deer a block or two from our neighborhood. The poor doe didn’t die immediately but ran into a ravine in the woods less than 200 feet from our house (and 200-400 feet from 10 additional residences on our street), and then died.
At noon last Monday (Sept. 21), my adult daughter saw two Starkville animal control officers and three Starkville Police officers walk through the woods adjacent to our property and exit far down the street. As we had lunch that day, we made jokes about why there was so much Starkville “horsepower” in the woods behind our homes and hoping the problem wasn’t serious.
Thursday afternoon, as I was mowing, my nose helped me diagnose the problem. The next day (Friday) we had a big time stench throughout our neighborhood.
My wife made inquiries with animal control, and they told us that the Starkville officers had found a dead deer, and had decided to LEAVE her in the woods to rot behind our homes less than 200 feet away.
We knew nothing about this until our noses told us. The lady from animal control suggested we drag the deer to the street (350 feet away) so that it would become the street department’s problem (It’s late summer in Mississippi, and a dead animal is RIPE after five days).
I went to the co-op and purchased some hydrated lime, put on a gas mask and fought off the blowflies enough to cover the poor deer with it.
To the five Starkville officers who made the decision to leave a 70-pound dead deer in my backyard without telling anyone: Did you not know that a large dead animal is a health hazard to residential areas (other animals eating rotten meat, air pollution, blowflies, etc.)? Why did you not tell anyone? My wife was working in the garage about 150 feet from where you left the deer.
We could have disposed of it five days ago. I get that the animal died on private property; that animal control does not pick up dead animals; and that police were only there in case the animal was not dead. However, the deer was hit on public property, and you not only failed to take care of the problem, you failed to tell anyone so they could dispose of it (How would you feel if it were near your home?). It’s too late to properly dispose of this deer. My hope in writing this letter is that you will make a better decision if such an incident occurs in the future. That deer should have been buried, and you were in a position to see it was done before it became a health hazard. Instead, you chose to sneak away. Oh, did I mention that you left the dead deer one block from Henderson-Ward Stewart School?
Wallace E. Killcreas
Starkville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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